Whenuakura is a farming community on State Highway

New Zealand State Highway network

The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...

 3 east of Patea

Patea

Patea is the third-largest town in South Taranaki, New Zealand. It is on the western bank of the Patea River, 61 kilometres north-west of Wanganui on State Highway 3. Hawera is 27 km to the north-west, and Waverley 17 km to the east. The Patea River flows through the town from the...

, at the southern end of Taranaki on the North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

 of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. The boundary between the Taranaki and Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

 provinces runs through Whenuakura. There is the Whenuakura Primary School, Whenuakura dairy factory and Whenuakura Hall. Whenuakura is also bounded by the Patea

Patea River

The Patea River is in Taranaki in the North Island of New Zealand. It runs for 105 kilometres from the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki, passing east through Stratford before swinging south and reaching the South Taranaki Bight near the town of Patea....

 and Whenuakura rivers.

The population of the Whenuakura statistical area was 1,002 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 57 from 2001. The statistical area covers a large area to the northeast of Patea and not just the Whenuakura locality.

Whenuakura pa

Pa (Maori)

The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...

 near the Whenuakura River bridge is the marae

Marae

A marae malae , malae , is a communal or sacred place which serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies...

 of the Kaikurakau and Pomotangi hapu. Families at this pa descend from Nga Rauru

Nga Rauru

Ngā Rauru is a Māori iwi in the Wanganui region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 4,047 Māori claimed affiliation to Ngā Rauru, representing 14 hapu.-Early history:...

  and Ngati Ruanui

Ngati Ruanui

Ngāti Ruanui is a Māori iwi traditionally based in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 7,035 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. However, most members now live outside the traditional areas of the iwi.-Early history:...

,(all directly from Rangitawhi and Aotea

Aotea (canoe)

In Māori tradition, Aotea is one of the canoes by which Māori migrated to New Zealand; it is particularly associated with the tribes of Taranaki and Whanganui, including Ngāti Ruanui and other tribal groups. Aotea was a double canoe built by Toto from half of a great tree from Hawaiki, the other...

 waka

Waka (canoe)

Waka are Māori watercraft, usually canoes ranging in size from small, unornamented canoes used for fishing and river travel, to large decorated war canoes up to long...

).

The New Zealand golfer Michael Campbell

Michael Campbell

Michael Shane Campbell, CNZM is a New Zealand golfer who is best known for having won the 2005 U.S. Open and the richest prize in golf, the £1,000,000 HSBC World Match Play Championship, in the same year. He is a member of the European Tour.Ethnically, he is predominantly Māori, from the Ngati...

, winner of the 2005 US Open, descends from these iwi

Iwi

In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...

. He spent his early childhood at Whenuakura and learned to play golf at the Patea Golf Club about 8 km to the west.

Education

Whenuakura School is a coeducational contributing primary (years 1-6) school with a decile rating

Socio-Economic Decile

Decile, Socio-Economic Decile or Socio-Economic Decile Band is a widely used measure in education in New Zealand used to target funding and support to more needy schools....

of 4 and a roll of 33. The school celebrated 125 years of education in the district in 2002.